Lyras to Seek GOP Nomination for 13th District Seat

YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio – Businessman Lou Lyras will run for the Republican nomination for the 13th congressional district.

Lyras, running for the seat held by U.S. Rep. Tim Ryan, will formally launch his campaign with a meet-and-greet event June 6 at the B&O Station. He is president and owner of Corcon Inc., a Coitsville Township-based industrial painting company that specializes in bridge restoration. 

“Together we can lift each other up by creating opportunity through work that is meaningful but hard, work that is the backbone of America,” Lyras said on his campaign website.

Ryan, who is running for the Democratic presidential nomination, has recently come under attack by Republicans for missing votes and for “lurching left” on abortion. 

“I am running as a Republican who will work for the good of the Valley,” Lyras said. “While our country is enjoying economic successes, our Valley is lagging behind. I will work to get meaningful jobs here.”

Lyras, who describes himself as “liberal but pragmatic,” shared several positions that would seem to be more aligned with those of Democrats than the GOP platform. 

In response to General Motors’ decision to cease production at its Lordstown Complex, Lyras suggested using the “power of the purse” for a one- or two-month boycott of GM cars to force the carmaker to re-examine its plant closings.

He is also critical of the current approach to immigration.

“We cannot be the country that opened its arms and took in immigrants and refugees when they sought new opportunities and a second chance, and then after years of becoming a part of our country, tear them away from their families and homes. We cannot do this. I will not do this,” he said. “These people are here. They are working, and many have lived here and have been working here for decades.”

Additionally, he called for taking “unfettered campaign money out of our political system,” said carbon dioxide emissions “will threaten all of us” unless addressed with the same vigor as when the United States entered World War II, and called for a national health-care program with a single-payer system and private medical care. 

Copyright 2024 The Business Journal, Youngstown, Ohio.